Narrow Majorities Limit Congress Amidst Unfelt Tax Cut

Key Quotes

"Republicans of course hold majorities in both chambers of congress but those are very narrow majorities how has that affected the ability of congress to get things done this year it's made it incredibly tough i mean right now house speaker mike johnson has a three seat majority it's sort of hovered around those numbers throughout the year when people have retired left early etcetera it has been really tough for mike johnson to hold the house republican conference together i think the one thing he relies on throughout this process is president trump holding the house republican conference together"

Sarah McCammon explains that the narrow Republican majorities in both the House and Senate have significantly hindered Congress's ability to pass legislation. McCammon highlights that House Speaker Mike Johnson's slim three-seat majority has made it challenging to maintain party unity, often relying on former President Trump's influence to keep the Republican conference together.

"in the senate republicans have a majority they have a three seat majority you need 60 votes to get most legislation through that has made it tough to get a lot of things through in the senate but i will say the one exception obviously is the massive tax bill that republicans passed on the hill through a process known as reconciliation where they just needed a simple majority so in that sense they got a major thing done despite their small majority it was tough and it was painful but they got it through"

Deirdre Walsh points out the difficulty of passing legislation in the Senate due to the need for 60 votes, which is a high threshold for a narrow majority. Walsh identifies the significant tax bill as a major legislative accomplishment, noting that it was passed using the reconciliation process, which only required a simple majority, thus enabling its passage despite the Republican minority.

"the so called big beautiful bill oh the one big beautiful bill yes which has already been rebranded as the working families' tax cut because i think a lot of leaders and rank and file members on the hill realize that most people in their districts don't know much about that bill don't know what's in it haven't felt the impact of it yet i think this is a dynamic that democrats dealt with under president biden when they passed build back better which was rebranded as the inflation reduction act that bill was designed to sort of head off inflation lower inflation and people apparently as we saw in the election didn't feel the effects of that"

Tamara Keith discusses the rebranding of the "big beautiful bill" as the "working families' tax cut," indicating a strategic effort to make the legislation more relatable to constituents. Keith draws a parallel to the rebranding of the Inflation Reduction Act under President Biden, suggesting that both instances reflect a challenge in communicating the tangible benefits of major legislation to the public, as evidenced by electoral outcomes.

"the white house position has become sort of we need patience you guys will feel this soon we swear it's coming it'll be great just just file your taxes and you'll notice but i think there's kind of an open question of how much people will actually notice and it's you know a little bit of what have you done for me lately because that was passed back in july there's been very little to show for it since then other than a lengthy government shutdown that pretty much no one liked"

Tamara Keith describes the White House's strategy regarding the tax bill as one of patience, urging the public to wait for the benefits to become apparent. Keith expresses skepticism about the public's ability to notice the effects, framing it as a "what have you done for me lately" question, especially given the lack of tangible results since the bill's passage and the intervening government shutdown.

"president trump is high on his executive authority he believes he can do almost anything through executive authority including things that typically would require legislation it's sort of remarkable to me that there hasn't even really been a push to try to memorialize some of his executive actions in law i mean there was talk of that at the beginning of the year when trump signed a bunch of executive actions and the house republicans were like we're going to codify those"

Deirdre Walsh observes that President Trump heavily relies on executive authority, believing he can enact policies that would normally require legislative action. Walsh finds it noteworthy that there has been little effort to codify Trump's executive actions into law, despite initial discussions about doing so at the beginning of the year.

"the relationship between congress and the white house is sort of a one way street trump wants them to do what he wants them to do and that's about it and the republicans generally do it right i think there've been a couple of places where we've seen pushbacks the main one is the bipartisan support for forcing a vote to release the epstein files this is something that trump promised that he would do this is something that the maga base has been talking about for years democrats quickly recognized once the doj and the fbi sort of tried to pull back on that promise that this was an opening a political opening and they exploited it they got together with republicans to force a vote in the house and force the president's hand and then a bill quickly went through and then the senate unanimously passed it that stuff never happens on capitol hill it was sort of land speed record that it went through"

Tamara Keith characterizes the dynamic between Congress and the White House as a "one way street," where Trump dictates terms and Republicans largely comply. Keith identifies the bipartisan effort to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files as a notable exception, explaining how Democrats capitalized on a political opening to rally support from Republicans, leading to swift legislative action.